BAHAMA 2016 Expedition Leg 3
Monday 5/9
Woke
up in the middle of the night, there were lights behind us that weren’t there
when we went to bed. It looks like a huge yacht anchored behind us, towing
another power boat. In the morning it pulled out at 8, the ‘Aqua Cat’ a 150’
catamaran that appears to be a live aboard dive boat pulling a smaller
excursion boat. Highborn Cay Marina came on the air at 8 and gave a weather
report on channel 6, NE winds 15 Kt with possible afternoon showers for the
next two days. Several boats responded with thanks for the information. After
breakfast we raised the main sail and had a nice run down to Allan’s Cay. There
were 7 boats anchored there and we could see a lot of boats and 2 large yachts
anchored off the next island of Highborn Cay. We have not seen this many boats
since we left Abaco. We anchored but ended up too close to another small 24’
sailboat. While deciding what to do a power boat with a bunch of people came in
and anchored just off the beach and they went swimming and exploring the beach.
Another sailboat left the anchorage and we moved to where he had been. After
the power 
boat
left, we got in the dingy and went ashore. 
We
took pictures of the native iguanas, one of the last islands with these
creatures. Back at the boat, we had lunch and most of the other boats left the
harbor. We pulled up anchor and headed out, the remaining boats followed us.
Cathy was steering and reported that the port engine had stopped. We tried
restarting it but it only ran for a few seconds. I checked the fuel tank,
plenty of fuel. I examined the fuel filter and it looked OK, then I checked the
engine and saw that the fuel connector had separated from the engine. I
reattached it and the engine started. A minute later the engine stopped again
and the connector had separated again. I pushed it in harder and it clicked,
the engine started and we did not have any more problems. It was quite windy,
15+ Kt and we just put up the jib for a quiet sail down to Normans Cay. We
motored the last few miles to a protected anchorage with 2 other sailboats.
Cathy immediately jumped in the water and a few minutes later a dolphin passed
right behind our boat. The water was incredibly clear, visibility of about 40’.
I joined her in the water and did some hull scraping, a few barnacles I missed last
time and I scraped off some of the other crud that was sticking to the bottom
of the boat. It came off easily and most was already removed from the bow
portion as we sailed along. Several more boats entered the anchorage while we
swam and shampooed our hair. The water was a bit cool but we felt much better
after swimming. We watched the sun set behind a bunch of clouds, the sky has
gotten cloudier in the evening for the last few days. Had Paella for dinner,
Yum Yum! The anchor light had failed yesterday so I rigged a sling to hold the
garden light from the port bow that broke earlier and raised it on the
screecher halyard. It should be good enough for the Bahamas.
Tuesday 5/10
Listened
to the Highborn weather report at 8 and heard the Exuma Park announcements on
channel 9 at 9 AM. They get reports of boats leaving and others asking for
mooring assignments. Around 10:30 we took the dingy in to the beach near the
Beach Club and followed a boardwalk to MacDuff’s. Several people were having
breakfast and we told them we would be back around 12:30 for lunch. The airport
is just behind the Club and has a shiny new fence around it. The airstrip also
looks newly paved but the road around is just dirt and rocks. The southern end
of the island is dominated by a huge mountain of fresh dirt/marl. We walked
south around the airport and found the reason, they had started to dig a yacht
basin, it was not yet connected to the ocean but they had started to line the
sides with rock. It looked like they started to dig a side canal but stopped
and there was no sign of the heavy equipment to complete the job. We walked to
the bay on the east side of the island and found a new pier and the most beautiful
little island with a palm tree. The ditched DC-3 was not visible. We walked
further down the bay and on a side path found a beautiful isolated beach. By
now we were getting warm and hungry so we retraced our steps to MacDuff’s and
ordered lunch, 
McDuff
burger for me and the Lime Fish sandwich for Cathy. The restrooms were very
special, they were air conditioned with mini split systems like we put in our
house and they were cold and spotless. The sink was almost big enough to take a
bath in. The food and service were excellent; we were the only guests at that
time. Back at the boat we decided to stay for the rest of the day, swimming and
resting and leave tomorrow. All but one boat, a 
long
way away had pulled up anchor and left so we pretty much had the place to
ourselves. There was a lot of activity at the airport, planes arriving and
taking off and several military type helicopters kept landing and taking off
and circling the island. They would blow up a big cloud of dust each time they
landed or took off. For a sleepy little island, it has a lot of air traffic.
So
Norman’s Cay was spectacular!!! We stayed another day when we went in for
lunch. I felt like I was on Fantasy Island. We had the whole island to
ourselves. So peacefully and serene. We were the only ones in the restaurant
and then the chief came out and ask us how our meal was. Swimming happy hour
and a beautiful sunset. Richard and I are living what people only dream off. We
are so blessed to have this time together I already want to come back next
year.
Wednesday 5/11/16
The
wind was much lighter and after listening to the 8 AM weather report, when the
Exuma Park came on at 9 we called them and made a reservation for tomorrow. The
final boat in the anchorage left in the morning and we had the place to
ourselves. Cathy got a text from Horizon, they had an engine failure going
through Current Cut and decided the best course would be to head back to Florida.
They ran into light winds in the Gulf Stream and called SeaTow, they towed them
all the way to their dock in Marina Bay. Around 9:30 we raised the main and
pulled up the anchor and sailed out of the harbor while another sailboat was
coming in. I left the double reef in the main because it still seemed a bit
gusty and we did not have far to go and I was lazy. We did 3-4 Kt but only had
9 miles to go to Hawksbill. There were 2 power boats in the central anchorage
where there are 3 mooring buoys. We went to the south anchorage that is
described in the cruising guide. It has 6 moorings and 2 were occupied by power
boats. We picked the one right in front of the small creek at 12:30 and had
lunch, followed by a nice snooze, life is good. It was a bit warm around noon,
like summer was coming on so we took it easy and later some clouds rolled in
and the breeze picked up and things cooled down enough for us to get busy. I
put an extra line on the mooring. The mooring itself looked new and in good
condition, a nice change from Hatchet Bay. At this time the park warden came by
in a small runabout to collect for the moorings. We told him we were going to
Wardrick Wells tomorrow and had reservations and he said we could just pay
there. We put the dingy in and went to the beach where there was a park sign
but no trails. There was a box to pay the mooring fee. We followed the island
north and passed the large central beach, there was a flag which may have been
a trail but we kept on north to the next beach where there was a definite sign.
We landed, the sign was washed out but it looked like ‘ruins’. We followed a
path marked with bits of string on trees and occasional signs and found the
runs of a small cabin and some rock fences. 
As
we were about to turn around we met a German couple form another sailboat
coming up the trail. We returned together to the beach. Back at the boat I
jumped in and checked out the mooring, it looked new, not much algae or other
growths. It was all rope connected to a little chain on the bottom which looked
new. The weight was buried under the surface. The clouds had built up and it
looked like it would rain soon but after my swim and shampoo, the threatening
clouds dissipated and it was just a partly cloudy day. (Don’t ask about the
pictures, I don’t know what happened. Back at the boat after a tall Rum and
Coke with Coconut Rum, I pushed all the usual buttons and this is what came
out.)
Thursday 5/12/16
The
wind was very light in the morning. We listened to the weather and Exuma Park,
they have a mooring for us. We put up the whole main and motor sailed out of
the harbor. The park office is closed for lunch from 12 to 1 so we timed our
arrival for just after 1. The wind picked up a bit and we were a bit ahead of
schedule so we turned the motor off and sailed for a while, doing 3-4 Kt. We
got our mooring, #11 and picked it up at 1:30. After cleaning up the boat, we
dingied in to the ranger station and paid the mooring fee, $60 for Hawksbill
and 2 nights at Wardrick Wells. They have WIFI for $15 for 100Mb, I may try
that tomorrow. The ranger station had a new exhibit of a pilot whale skeleton.
We walked along the beach 
where
the sperm whale skeleton is exhibited and started on the Boo Boo Hill trail,
but I forgot that it crosses a tidal stream and we did not bring our water
shoes. We tried another trail, the Causeway Trail and followed it to a sign to
Barefoot Beach. We swam for a while and then Cathy returned to the ranger
station and I continued on the Causeway Trail to the 
bridge
over the tidal stream and on to the large sink hole with a ladder that was used
by the original settlers as a hurricane shelter. Back at the ranger station we
met another couple on a sailboat with 2 dogs, they were using the WIFI service.
We returned to the boat for a nap, the mooring field was filling up with
several new boats. For dinner we had some more of the fish we caught a few days
ago with rice and the Pigeon Peas in Coconut Water that I found in Hatchet Bay,
good stuff.
OMG!!!!
As we enter Exuma Park I am spell bound by the beauty of the water. There are 3
different shades of blue!! We are entering the park U shape channel I am in awe
as we approach mooring ball #11. As we approach the mooring ball and I grab it
the eye is so heavy it took me by surprise. I was trying to get the boat hook
out of the way but the eye was so heavy but the good skipper that I am I
handled well. Just bragging a little.
Friday 5/13/16
A very quiet night, we slept right through except when the
mooring ball bumped into the hull in the middle of the night. It woke me up and
I tied it closer so it would not bump. The winds were calm and we listened to
the weather report and then got our snorkeling gear and motored over to Emerald
Rock. There were 2 dingy moorings near coral formations and we tied up to the
first one and dove in. Lots of fish and a variety of corals. After taking lots
of pictures and trying out the selfie stick on the GoPro for the first time
under water, we returned to the dingy. I removed my flippers and climbed aboard
and helped Cathy board. It was then I realized there was only one of my
flippers aboard, I must have thrown one over the inflation tubes too close to
the aft end and it went into the water. We searched down current for 10 minutes
but could not locate it. We moved to the second coral head and took more
pictures (me with one flipper). Then we motored over to what I thought was
Beryl Beach but turned out to be Rendezvous Beach. Two other visitors were
transiting the beach and taking the island trails as we pulled the dingy up on
the beach. We found the trail to the Loyalist Plantation, it started a bit
rough with a steep climb up coral rocks. At the top we found several rock walls
and a few rock and cement walls. They must have lived in very small rooms. We
returned to the boat and after lunch I went to the ranger station and purchased
100Mb of WIFI for $15. I had a monkey on my back and I needed a fix. The internet
connection was very slow but they said just watch the water and wildlife and
relax while your internet requests go through. I downloaded email, nothing
about the IRS, no news is good news, I hope. I ordered the autopilot belt and
had it sent to Mike and paid the credit card bill. We still have a positive
balance so we don’t have to come home yet. The park staff were having a
marathon dominos match, slamming down the dominoes until about 2 PM. Back at
the boat, Cathy provided drinks and we reviewed all the pictures we took today.
I still need more practice with the selfie stick. Another catamaran came in and
took the mooring just in front of us. They seem like nice people, the captain
had a big beard, but they charged the mooring like they wanted to kill it and
ran over it, backed up and charged it again until the guy at the front grabbed
the mooring pendant, tied it to the boat and brought it to a sudden 
stop.
Cathy made me a second Rum and Coke, does she have an alternative motive????
Who me
have an alternative motive?? So while Richard was doing Wi-Fi, I decided to go for
a swim off the back of the boat with a line out because the current was strong.
So I put on my snorkel and start swimming around looking right and left and
then I look out straight in front of me and there he is swimming by a
SHARK!!! Where is my camera? On the
boat. Richard wanted proof O well. The shark was about 30 feet in front of me
heading straight for the shore line. So I continued to float around holding on
to the line watching below in crystal clear water fishes eating swimming and moving
quickly around. My private sea aquarium quiet clear water heaven on earth. This
writing was done under influence of a tall rum and coke with a twist of lime.
Saturday 5/14
There
was almost no wind and only a few boats left in the harbor. On the 9 AM radio
call from the park we said our goodbyes and motored out. What little wind there
was came from the southeast, our direction for today so it was motoring over
almost flat emerald green water 12-20 feet deep. Our friends from the park,
Independence from Tampa passed us. Another catamaran also passed, stopped for a
swim and then passed us again. We all ended up at the anchorage of Big Major
Cay shortly after lunch along with 30 other boats including one enormous 150’
yacht. We rested and took a nap until the sun went down a bit and then joined
other boats on the beach watching the hogs. Several parties were feeding them
bread, crackers or melons. One hog almost climbed into a dingy. There were also
roosters on the island and many gulls looking for a free meal. We left our
spare water in a trough where a sign asked for fresh water for the hogs. After
dark, things cooled down nicely and a slight breeze made a pleasant evening. At
one point someone set of a bunch of fireworks from shore and the large yacht
‘Pipe Dream’ set loose a number of hot air balloons, paper bags with some
source of fire suspended below. They flew for 30 seconds before the flame died,
I was glad I was not down wind of them.
Sunday 5/15/16
A
light easterly breeze in the morning, slept late. Attended to a few boat jobs,
filled the gas tanks, checked the oil, oiled the engine control cables and
applied silicone to the mainsail cover zipper. Enough work for one day. We took
the dingy around Big Major Cay to Staniel Cay, about 1.5 miles and tied up at
the Staniel Cay Marina. Someone was cleaning fish and a group of people were
watching the sharks and rays compete for the scraps. One guy on a paddleboard
went right over them, sharks all around. They were only nurse sharks but there
was a news report in the office about someone who got stabbed in the neck with
a stingray barb and almost bleed to death before he could be airlifted to a
hospital. The marina is also the terminal for watermakersair.com which flies
packages from the states, they gave us the number to call for information on
getting our autopilot repair part. We walked around town and found the place to
deposit trash, several restaurants and grocery stores. There were a lot of
houses in various states of construction but it was not obvious if they were
ongoing projects or failed projects. We arrived back at the marina and got a
table for lunch in the air-conditioned section, I needed that after our walk. A
large party soon filled the restaurant, part of a group tour. They had pre
ordered their food so we had some time to relax, drink beer and access their
WIFI before our food arrived. Nothing new in the news, we did not miss anything
by being out of contact for several days. We returned to the boat, I took a nap
and then at 4, we jumped in for a swim. Cathy went in first and just as I was
getting my feet wet, I saw a dark shape near the side of the boat, it was a
shark, possibly one of the nurse sharks we saw at the dock. Cathy got out and
the shark circled our boat and went off towards some of the other boats and we
jumped back in. At 5 we were waterlogged and got out for happy hour, life is
tough.
So here I am piloting the dinghy to Stanley
Cay Marina and all of a sudden there a so many nurse sharks, stingrays, and
seagulls in crystal clear water and awesome site to see. After we tie up the
dingy both Richard and I get our phones and start recording. Then along comes a
young man sitting on his paddleboard paddling right in the middle of all the
animals feeding. Great welcome for us to
Stanley.
Monday 5/16/16
My
phone data plan renews today so I feel less isolated now but I am not sure I
want to know what is going on in the world. There is a nice breeze this
morning. Low tide is at 11 so we move the boat over to Staniel Cay at 9,
intending to stop at the fuel dock and pick up gas and water. But the fuel dock
is occupied by the tanker that is resupplying the yacht club. We anchor and
wait, someone calls in and they say it will be a couple more hours before the
tanker is finished. We watch a number of other boats gathering at Thunderball
Cave and at 10:45 we get in the dingy and join them. We may be a little late as
there is already a current running and it is hard to enter, neither of us is
using fins. There are fish and other swimmers but we eventually make it in and
get some good pictures. Back at the boat we have lunch and then a snooze.
Another Seawind, Morning Glory from Stuart, FL cruised by and introduced
themselves, they are headed for Thunderball Cave and then the pig beach. Around
3 PM the marina gets busy with several boats coming in, we 
wait
for the activity to die down and then proceed in to the fuel dock for 20
gallons of gas and about 80 gallons of water. We get rid of a weeks’ worth of
garbage and I fax our cruising permit to watermakers.com, one of the
requirements to get our package shipped. I also email an ‘invoice’ to them,
another requirement. Tomorrow I will call and see if everything is OK and give
them a credit card. We motor back to Big Majors Cay, swim and have happy hour,
another tough day.
After Richard anchored the dinghy close to the
cave we get ready with our snorkel and starting swimming to the cave. WOW! The
current is so strong I cannot get to the entrance of the cave. Other people are
there inside swimming around but this chick is having a hard time on the
approach to the cave. So I decided to try to go along the side of the cave
holding on to the ledges of the cave to bring me in. WALA it worked. I am
holding on with my right hand and left hand with wrist holder for my camera. I
start video taking what an awesome site!! My head is just about touching the
cave ledges and I simple put my face in the water and beautiful coral and
fishes swimming so close to me they are everywhere. Richard is still outside
the entrance and I tell him to swim alongside the cave as I did and he finally
enters the cave. The tourists left and it is only he and I taking pictures and
admiring the beauty of this cave but, the current is so strong we have to hold
on. I am having such a wonderful experience enjoying the cave with the formation
and colors of the cave surrounding us and the light from above comes down on
the water. It was a challenge for me but it was a great workout moving around
and holding on. Finally, my loving husband says” Cathy it is time to go.” So
all I had to do was let go and let the current take me out. We both flop into
the dinghy and off we go back to the boat. Then after lunch, we rest awhile and
get ready to go to the fuel dock. After we tie up at the dock, we get our
water, gas and dispose of our trash Richard heads off to the office. It is so
HOT!! I clear the decks of extra lines and fenders we had put out and waited
for his return. That afternoon swim after we anchored at Big Majors was so
refreshing. One thing about us cruising and anchoring in different anchorages
is the vast variety of mega yachts, trawlers, and catamarans there are with all
of their set ups. One yacht had 4 jet skis on the upper deck. I said to
Richard, I am going hale everyone and let’s have a 5pm happy hour dinghy circle
raft-up. Just a crazy idea of mine.
Tuesday 5/17
We spent a quiet morning at anchor and decided to go to the general store in the afternoon. Low tide was about 1 PM and Cathy remembered that the store was closed from noon till 2 PM. We pulled up the anchor at 1:15 and motored around to Staniel Cay and anchored in the shallow water just outside the creek that runs into the store. It was a bit windy and there was a lot of chop until we got into the creek. We brought the propane tank which had run out a week ago. Vivian, the store keeper said it would take overnight to fill the tank, it is hooked up and gravity fed into the tank. We picked up coke, breakfast cereal, milk, onions, oranges, limes and a few other items and will be back Thursday after the supply boat comes.
Wednesday 5/18
We decided to take a day off, sleep late, read, swim, play games and watch a movie. It’s terrible to be retired and have nothing to do. We listened to some rumbling to the north but nothing came close and we had a quiet night with the wind decreasing as predicted
Thursday 5/19
The wind was light from the south east but there was a line of clouds with rain to the west and a dark storm cloud far to the north west with occasional rumbling. I watched it until just before noon, it did not seem to be threatening so we pulled up the anchor and motored around to Staniel Cay. There were already 5 or 6 sailboats anchored out and the supply vessel was unloading at the city dock. We anchored and had lunch and watched the weather. From the anchorage, we could pick up the Staniel Cay Yacht Club WIFI signal and paid $20 for 200Mb. By the time I had downloaded the mail, it was almost all gone so I paid for another 200Mb and downloaded some library books, checked the bank for bills to pay. The weather still was not getting any closer so at 2PM we headed on the general store. Several other dingys were also headed in the same direction. We picked up fresh produce, bottled water, meat balls, chicken, lunch meat and bread. Our LPG tank was also filled and we sent off the check to the IRS for the mistake in our tax return, talk about serpents in paradise. Back at the boat I checked email again and updated the website. The email we were waiting for was there, our autopilot part had arrived and I jumped in the dingy and found the package waiting for me at the yacht club office. As I was getting back in the dingy, a local was bringing in a good batch of fish for cleaning and the sharks were circling the cleaning station. There was also a turtle swimming around, the sharks did not take any notice of him and he ignored the sharks. Back at the boat it took only 30 minutes to replace the belt and get the autopilot working again, I have taken it apart so many times already. The clouds dissipated and it looks like a fairly clear night. From this anchorage we may be able to see the green flash, from Big Majors, the sun set behind another island. The supply ship must have brought in a supply of palm trees; we saw a small boat go by loaded with them.
Friday 5/20/16
A quiet night, calm and it even got a bit warm during the night but the wind came up 10 Kt from the south east and it cooled off nicely. There were clouds around and it looked like rain to the south where we were going today. We waited until about 9:30 and it seemed to clear up but there were still clouds around. We pulled up the anchor, set the full main sail and jib and sailed out of the harbor. A couple of sailboats, one monohull, one catamaran sailed in as we were rounding Harvey Cay. A freighter was headed south and several sailboats, one catamaran flying a spinacher were headed north. For the most part we left all the boats and mega yachts behind at Big Majors Spot. Cathy set a fishing line but no luck. We had a nice beat upwind to Black Point, only 8 miles away. Two sailboats in the harbor pulled up anchor and left just as we were arriving. We had lunch and then a snooze. It was hot and we decided to swim and relax and go into town tomorrow. As I was getting the safety float ready for our swim, I saw just a flash of something big swim under the boat. I did not see anything for a while so we carefully got in the water. Under the boat there was a small striped black and white remora, 12” long. Looking further there was a 3’ remora swimming under the boat. The little one stayed close to the hull, the big one alternated between swimming near the hull and swimming near the bottom. From time to time it would attach itself vertically to the inside of the starboard keel, head up and hand there for a minute or two. After our swim, one sailboat came by, turned around and headed back north. Just before the sun went down another sailboat going south pulled into the harbor and anchored. We had chicken, carrots and a nice salad, the first in a long time. Fresh salad tasted great.
Saturday 5/21/16
The supply ship came into the town pier in the morning. We dingied in shortly after and walked around the town. We met the couple from the other boat outside Loraine’s Restaurant, using the WIFI. They are from Georgia and will head south for Emerald Bay and then head for the Chesapeake area. We walked through the town and checked out the stores and restaurants, then returned to Lorene’s for fish and conch combination lunch. We were stuffed and went back to the boat for a rest. Later we went swimming and our visiting remoras were not around. The wind seemed to be coming more from the south and our next destination, an open anchorage a little further down Great Guana Cay may be too exposed so we stayed here for another night and tomorrow would go directly to Little Farmers Cay. There were a few thunder clouds to the north and south of us but nothing close.
Sunday 5/22/16
Early in the morning, around 4 AM it started sprinkling and it did not immediately wake me up so a little water came through the open hatches but not much. A bit later the rain came down harder and then very hard. We collected about 7 gallons of rain water and the boat is no longer salty.
The sky cleared up and we departed at 10 AM for Farmers Cay. There were still lines of clouds and possible rain but it looked like decent weather. We saw one other catamaran going south, it kept going past Farmers. We pulled in, there was one catamaran and one small power boat in the anchorage. I called Farmers Cay Marina but they did not appear to be open. We anchored near the catamaran and had lunch. There anchorage was small with coral shoals and sand bars around and quite a current running through so I decided to push on to Rudder Cay and going by the outside route, on the east side of the island chain with deep water seemed the fastest and easiest. But it was directly up wind so we motored the 7 miles and entered Rudder Cay Cut. We found another sailboat anchored in the first cove with a beach, palm trees and a large cave in the cliff. We left them alone and went to the second cove which also had a beach and a large cave, old ruins but no palm trees. It got a bit shallow and we anchored in 5’ at just after low tide. We swam for a while, snoozed and had dinner. As the sun set, the mosquitos came out. This was the first anchorage with more than one or 2 of the buggers. We quickly put up screens and this seems to have solved the problem.
As Richard and I walk through the various
towns we visit, we see beautiful cottages on the water but as we continue into
town we see the living conditions of the locals that live there. Concrete
housing foundations left abandon, houses boarded up and deteriorating slowing
over time. Women sitting on the outdoor porches with all their house windows
open and as we pass they greet us. We also see cars, boats, outboard motors
lying on the grounds of the town in beyond working order. However, when we were
in Abaco I was reading the local paper and the cost of their Junkanoo Carnival
was 7 million dollars. Well I guess that is politics. On another note, I liked
to tell my readers about our food shopping expierences, as some of you might
already know that is dependent on when the provision boat comes to town. So far
we have caught the boat in time but what is at the stores is the surprise. Very
few fresh veggies, all chicken and meat are in a deep freezer. There is
cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, peppers, broccoli, fresh milk,
O.J., and eggs. They have a variety of breads even Bahama bread I was able to
get. The veggies are very limited. Some of you might wonder what is the cost so
here it is, 14oz box of cereal $5.00, 32oz O.J. is $5.00, can of black beans is
$2.50, can of tuna fish $1.50, shelf milk carton is $5.00. So the galley wench
has to be creative in the galley. Another aspect of going grocery shopping is
the logistics of getting there with our shopping bags in the dinghy. Once we
tie up to the dock with the ladder in front of us we carefully go up the ladder
usually me first and then Richard passes all the shopping bags to me and he
climbs up and secures the dinghy to the dock and off we go. Now after shopping,
we are back at the dock and now the bags have to go into the dinghy first step
Richard gets in the dinghy and I pass the bags to him. Then I untie the dinghy
from the dock and I proceed down the ladder. No shopping carts here!!! We take
so many of our daily routines for granted but it is all part of the cruisers
world. Which I am enjoying completely.
Monday 5/23/16
I
set the alarm for 7 AM to get a good start at the next leg. Cathy wanted to
stay and take a dingy ride to see the caves and beaches but the weather was
right for the leg to George Town, light winds from the south west for a beam
reach. We pulled up anchor at 8 AM and proceeded out the cut to the sound. The
boat in the next bay has already left. The wind started out as predicted and we
sailed and motor sailed for a while but the wind kept dropping and veering to
the south east and we ended up motoring more than sailing but we made good time
as the seas were flat. We waved at several boats going north, maybe there will
be room for us at George Town or maybe they knew something that we did not. We
got to the entrance at 2:30 and proceeded to the anchorage at Stocking Cay
there were 5 sailboats, one power boat and a large yacht anchored there. We
could see a lot of masts in the inner harbor of Stocking Cay, the cruising
guide indicated that these were long term residents and we would likely not get
in there. After anchoring we watched our neighbors take their dogs in to the
beach. The wind dropped as the sun went down and mosquitoes swarmed about so we
quickly put in the screens. Once the screens were in place and the sun went down
the mosquitoes were not a problem. I brought out the PC and much to my surprise
the BTC WIFI was available here, it was not available anywhere else in
Eleuthera or the Exumas. I started downloading emails which had backed up for
the last few days and brought out the battery operated fan the Mike got me for
a present to keep the computer from overheating. Cathy came up from the galley,
which has 2 fans, and accosted me for having a fan (to cool the PC) and not
thinking of her (in the galley with 2 fans). It seems that logic is of no use
with the distaff side, I am sleeping by myself tonight. 5 or 6 boats joined
this anchorage after we anchored.
Richard
and I discussed the fan issue he must have thought I dyed my hair blonde to
believe that the fan was for the computer. It was a long day and I did not use
the fans in the galley but I thought if he got a fan he would get one for his
loving wife. So after our discussion we both made our bed and we fell asleep
together.
Tuesday 5/24/16
In
the middle of the night the ferry came by, looking very big in the night. There
were thunder storms around and it started to sprinkle. Soon the wind increased
to 20-25 knots for a half hour before settling down. Lots of lightning and
thunder but nothing close and we only got a sprinkle of rain. In the morning it
was still windy but calmed down by 9 AM. We took showers in the head and I
shaved in preparation for going into town. We moved the boat closer to town. I
was going to anchor in front of the Peace and Plenty resort, there was one
catamaran near there but the dock was deserted and a bit exposed to the waves
so I went to the anchorage south of the town, Kidd Cove, named for the pirate
Captain Kidd. There were lots of boats here but plenty of room. We put the
dingy in and explored the harbor. We saw a turtle while motoring in and other
turtles in the Pond. We followed another dingy under the narrow bridge into
Lake Victory or the Pond where the grocery store has a dingy dock with a tap to
fill water tanks. We took the road around Lake Victory, picked up some maps at
the tourist 
bureau,
had lunch at the Peace and Plenty, (WIFI password PeacenPlenty), made some
purchases at the straw market, found a set of swim fins at a crowded hardware
store and bought groceries. A really full day.
Wednesday 5/25/16
A quiet night, no rain or lightning but there was music from town for a while. In the morning we turned on the VHF and heard the announcements for the Cruisers Net at 8 AM on Channel 72. The weather sounded like the last few days would continue for another week with a trough hanging around and then a secondary trough so we would have clouds and possible squalls for a while. The net operator, Emily on Temptress, provided us and another new boat with information and tips on how things work around here. A white garbage truck will take our garbage for $3 for a large bag, $2 for a small bag, on the honor system, put the money through the rolled down window. Lots of bars and restaurants have WIFI. Clarence fills propane tanks from a truck near the ShopRite store. The town library is open today, one of the cruisers operates it and teaches reading to the local children. We took a pile of books and a huge bag of laundry in to town. We left the laundry at Lees Corner Laundry and exchanged our books for others at the library. Finally, we stopped at the grocery store and picked up some frozen food, shrimp, chicken hamburgers (Bubba Vidalia) and some fresh vegetables (and chips and salsa). It was a bit of a rough ride out to the boat. There are clouds all around, some that look like they would build into storm clouds but so far they just sweep over us. After lunch I had a snooze and we went back for the laundry at 2:30. The sky had almost completely cleared but the wind was still 10-12 Kts. The laundry was done and neatly packed into the yellow backpack, a nice job for $40. Back at the boat we played Rummycub and split 4 games, I must be losing my touch! The clouds came back and the wind increased to 15 Kt from the north east. After dark there were a few lightning flashes but far away, no thunder. We heard a call on the radio, another boater saw a dingy floating by and alerted everyone to be on the lookout. The boat next to ours had 3 dingys hanging off it and it looked like there were fewer. I could see the dingy drifting by another boat with the binoculars or when it was lit up by a lightning flash. I illuminated it with our spot light and another dingy from our neighbor set out to rescue it. In 10 minutes the voice came back on the VHF, the dingy was back in its rightful place.
Thursday 5/26
In the early morning it started to rain and continued to rain until dawn, sometimes fairly hard. Cathy collected about 8 gallons, our supply from the previous rain squall in Black Point had dwindled to about 2 gallons. The cruisers net was delayed until 8:10 so they could collect more weather data, there is a low between Bermuda and the Bahamas headed towards Georgia or the Carolinas for Memorial Day. We will have rain and the possibility of squalls for the next few days and another wave on Tuesday. So we will stay here for a while longer. Looks like today is a good day to learn a new card game. Plenty of clouds but nothing looked threatening in the afternoon so at 6:30 we loaded up and took the dingy in and went to the BBQ at Peace and Plenty. They were just setting up to food so we got some drinks and found a good table. We both had the ribs with beans and rice, mac and cheese and coleslaw. The band started and played a number of Bahamian songs but no cow bells, saws or wash boards. At 9 we went down their dock where it was a little darker to watch the space station go by. It was plainly visible between several sets of clouds and we watched it for about 3 minutes. The wind had dropped by then and we had an easy dingy ride back to the boat.
When
eating outside you are not alone. Flies starting swarming in all around you so
here in the Bahamas they have two ways of dealing with the flies. 1. Use of hot
sauce around your plate. 2.Place a Sterno flame on the table both work well. We
have a guest on the boat, a bright green gecko we noticed it a few days ago in
the salon area. Then we saw him again sitting on top of the solar panels and
then yesterday we had to empty the water out of the dinghy he was on one of the
lines. So we are keeping our eyes for him again.
Friday 5/27/16
It
rained for a while in the early hours of the morning but no arcing and
sparking. The wind is light, 5 Kt from the east. We have a quiet morning
reading and watching the clouds. Cathy prepares some of the fresh vegetables we
bought at the market for dinner. We snoozed and read until 4 PM when the
weather seemed to be clearing up mostly and motored over to Stocking Island,
half a mile away. We waited for the sun to go down a bit and took the dingy for
a tour. There is an inlet on the island to 4 interconnected holes with lots of
moorings and boats, most seem to be stored.
Back at the boat Cathy prepared dinner with much flashing and slashing of sharp implements. I kept as far away as I could. The International Space Station came right overhead tonight at 9:20. I called out on the radio a minute before it arrived and several people called back to say that they saw it. It lasted 6 minutes and went almost directly overhead, quite a site with no clouds in the sky.
Saturday 5/28/16
A
quiet night but in the morning we waited until 10:30 for a line of clouds to
clear out before taking the dingy ashore and trying out some of the paths on
the island. It took a bit of looking to find the first, a path across to the
ocean side of the island. There is a nice looking beach on the ocean side. Then
we took the Express trail to the next beach south of our anchorage and found a
fire pit and seating made of driftwood. We returned to the dingy and had a nice
swim from the beach. For lunch we had Bubba Burgers we found at the grocery
store a few days ago, a taste of home. Shrimp, broccoli and lots of garlic for
dinner, yum, yum. The sky cleared up, looks like a good night.
Sunday 5/29/16
A
little drizzle during the night but mostly a calm night. We listened to the
cruisers net and checked the weather reports on the net, it looks OK for the
next few days but there always seems to be reports of storms a week away. Damn
this Climate Change!! At 10 everything
looks good and we head out in the dingy to the Black Rock Coral Reef where they
have put a dingy mooring. The reef is very close to shore and a resort. We
spend an hour snorkeling around and I try out my new flippers which work very
nicely, the old ones were probably too big and stiff to work well. The new ones
are much better. The coral heads have a large variety of corals and fans and
schools of different fish from very small to almost eating size. Cathy has
trouble getting into the dingy but we are only a few yards from shore so we
cast off and drift to shore where everyone can get in. Volleyball beach is our
next destination, it looked a little deserted when we went by earlier but now
it is starting to hop. We pull up to the beach next to another dingy, they have
a rope stretched along the beach to tie your dingy too, very convenient. They
have a small shop and we purchase a Tervis tumbler and a T-shirt. The bar is
packed and we wait to purchase Kaliks and lunch tickets. The seating is at
benches outside. The food is typical Bahamian, rice and peas, mac and cheese,
BBQ pork and cole-slaw, big portions and we were hungry. As we ate, more and
more boats arrived, not dingys but small to medium sized power boats from the
main land. To the south was a group of people in the water with several sting
rays swimming around. We go for a swim off the beach to cool off and then
return to the boat for a snooze. The trimaran next to us had been there 
since
we arrived and they have two dogs, a large white dog and a small brown one. We
have watched them take them in to the beach twice a day, the big white dog
stands on the bow of the dingy and the small brown one jumps off 100 feet from
shore and swims in. Today they got in the dingy and drifted away while the guy
pulled and pulled on the starter. We prepared the dingy to go after them as
they drifted quickly away but as we were about to start out they got the motor
running. It failed again just as they neared their boat but started again. They
make it to the beach and back. Supper was steak and vegies on the BBQ, very
good. We watched a flock of gulls attack a group of fish behind the boat. There
were a bunch of minnows beside the boat and larger fish were probably attacking
them and the gulls were there for any easy pickings.
Monday 5/30/16
A
quiet night, the supply ship arrived early in the morning. It rained a little
in the morning and then we moved the boat back to Kidd’s Cove near town. We
waited for some rain clouds to move away and then I went in to get gas (10
gallons) at Minn’s Water Sports and water (10 gallons) at the grocery dock.
Everything went well but when I headed back to the boat, the wind had increased
and raised a short steep chop and I got absolutely soaked by the time I got
back to the boat. It started to rain shortly after I returned so I could wash
the salt off. We collected another few gallons of rain water. Earlier I had
emptied our 2 jugs of water into the boat tanks and although the gauge
indicated it was full, nothing came out of the overflow, the final indication
that the tank is full. I emptied another 5 gallons in and it still did not
overflow. After lunch the weather seemed to settle down so we went in at 2 PM
for groceries. We picked up Coke Zero, vegetables and some frozen meat. At the
checkout we talked with the owner Geoffrey, an electrical engineer from Canada,
he talked about the cost of supplying free water for the cruisers, it would be
more expensive to have someone monitor it and charge the customers and the
expense of putting in the floating dock, purchased from Boston and shipped down
on a freighter. We loaded our purchases on a cart and then I went to the liquor
store for a case of Kalik and a bottle of Ricardo Rum. Then Cathy went back to
the grocery store for eggs. We loaded everything on the dingy and were on our
way back when Cathy realized we missed the bread. We will always miss something
and we have rolls so we will not suffer. Back on the boat we had a small rain
shower, relaxed and cooked diner on the grill, Chicken, vegetables and corn on
the cob. It was delicious. We played dominos for a while, the score was pretty
much even.
Tuesday 5/31/16
The wind came up during the night and there were some thunderstorms in the area. In the morning several more storms moved through, one had winds of 20-25 Kt. We discarded the water in the 5-gallon bucket, it was getting a bit gross and quickly filled it up with more rain water. The weather is supposed to turn squally on Thursday and Friday so we will stay here where there is good protection and try to head north on Saturday or Sunday. We used the fresh water to wash cloths, clean the boat and take showers. I feel much cleaner now. We played several rounds of the card game Hand and Foot. The port companion way was getting wet when it rained and we did not see how water was getting in there with the side screens up but during a big downpour I found water seeping in to the top of the port aft window, running down to the companion hatch. The black window sealant had separated slightly from the glass. I put a piece of electrical tape over it as a temporary fix. In the afternoon things cleared up but there are still a lot of clouds around.
Wednesday 6/1/16
It was another quiet night. The weather report from Chris Parker said we were in a diurnal pattern with light wind in the morning and increasing in the afternoon and early evening. The cruisers net started at 8:15, Emily sais some people are late and missing it so it will start later from now on. The weather report is still for squalls for the next few days. We head in to try the breakfast at the local hangout Red Boone. They have free WIFI but it takes a while to get the password. Cathy’s phone says it is “REDBOONE CAFÉ” but the bar tender shows us the password, written in red above the Free WIFI sign but it still takes a few tries to get the letters right. The WIFI works great but the breakfast sandwich is not so good, the bacon is raw and the bread flops around and the contents do not stay in, plus a few flies bother us. But we get the banking We see a barber sign on the beauty store just on the other side of the road, it was not there yesterday. We meet the barber Greggory and he has my excess hair chopped off in a few minutes. He does not have change but we need to get some more spending money and the Scotiabank is just next store. The ATM works but gives us big bills. We change on at the teller and then pick up a loaf of fresh coconut bread at Exuma market before repaying the barber. We walk around to the ShopRite and check their stock and pick up Country Time Strawberry Lemonade, Bisquick Instant Pancake container and breakfast pastries. Back at the dock we fill up our 2 5-gallon water jugs and head back to the boat, there are rain clouds around and a bit of thunder but we make it back to the boat OK. The water all fits in the tank, the gauge said full when we arrived and we have put in 20+ gallons without it overflowing. After a few games of RummyCub, Cathy went below to clean the refrigerator and I took the dingy in to refill the water jugs. While I was filling them a local child, maybe 5 years old, wandered down the dock, climbed in the dingy and all over and helped me fill the jugs. It was difficult to persuade him to leave before I left the dock. After a dinner of fish and broccoli, we took the cushions to the front trampoline and watched the stars come out. It was a little overcast and we could only see the brighter planets through the haze.
One of
the most interesting aspect of cruising Richard and I have noticed is pets
cruising with their owners. Especially, dogs!!!When we were at Exuma Park, I was
waiting for Richard (doing internet) I meet a woman there her name escapes at
this time I wonder why? She had not 1 but 2 black Portuguese waterdogs. One was
only 9 months old and the other was few years old. They were swimming in the
water and then starting playing with each other on the beach in all that sand
and then back in the water to rinse off. Then here in Georgetown, we were
anchored at Stocking Island near a trimaran that had a Chihuahua dog and a 50-60-pound
white dog. The Chihuahua was the alfa
dog by far. We were all anchored close to a beach so every morning the man would
take the dogs in and then about 5pm the woman would take the dogs in. But for
me this was my morning and happy hour entertainment. For to see these dogs in
transport to the beach was hilarious. Picture this, the white dog would walk
all around the dinghy balancing himself then stand on the bow and just close
enough to shore he would jump in the water but it’s the Chihuahua who really
mad us laugh in amazement. He be sitting right next to the owner and would leap
out from the dinghy into the water long before the white dog jumped in. So for
him he had a long swim to shore but did it every time. Upon the dogs return,
the owner would give them a fresh water rinse off the back of the boat. I told
Richard they should have a reality show called Cruising with Your Pets. What
people do for their love of pets. On Monday, on our way back to the boat a
turtle’s head out of the water right in front of the bow. WOW!! Then 2 nights
ago, I was sitting on top of the cabin top leaning against the boom watching
the sunset when I heard birds making a loud noise and looked in their direction
and they were flying over a school of fish diving into the water trying to
feed. But what amazed me was, I could actually see the fish jumping out of the
water while the seagulls were diving down to catch the fish. This entire
feeding frenzy lasted a good 10-15 minutes. I actually saw a seagull catch a
fish right out of the water. A National Geographic moment.
Thursday 6/2/2016
We
listened to the cruisers net at 8:15, the weather report was for a good few
days but then a tropical low would pass into the Gulf and over Florida and we
could get squally weather late Sunday through Tuesday. The weather in George Town
had been a bit oppressive with lines of clouds and rain and distant thunder
storms. The weather report suggested this would be a good time to leave and we
could get to a sheltered anchorage at Wardrick Wells before any bad weather
arrived late Sunday. Shortly after the cruisers net we pulled up anchor. We had
full water and fuel and plenty of groceries so it is off on the next adventure.
Except Cathy thought we were going to anchor at Stocking Island but when I said
it would take 7 hours to reach our destination, she did not say anything. As we
passed the Stocking Island anchorage she asked me why we were not stopping, we
had a miscommunication, we had talked about going to Stocking Island yesterday.
A
monohull left before us and a catamaran followed after us and headed north. I
put up the screecher but we were not going fast enough in the light wind so I
put up the main and screecher and was making 4-5 Kt and the wind would increase
later in the day. There were rain clouds around and a few thunder storms but
none close. As we went up the coast, the clouds followed us but did not get
close and the wind slowly increased from 5-7 Kt to 12-15 Kt. The other
catamaran had a reefed main and a small jib but it was bigger and pulled ahead
of us until in the afternoon the wind increased and we started doing 6-7 Kt and
pulled ahead YEAH! Just before Rudder Cut. We entered the cut and went to the
first beach, it was empty except for a dingy from a boat anchored in the second
beach. We anchored and had the beach all to ourselves. The people from the
other catamaran explored the cave near our beach while we launched the dingy
and explored their cove and cave and then returned just as they were leaving to
swim and explore the enormous cave near the beach where we were anchored.
Friday 6/3/2016
At
8 AM we pulled up the anchor so we could get through the shallow part of our
journey before low tide. As we passed Musha Cay we noticed a large ship off
shore and as we passed the opening to the sound, Cave Cay Cut, a good sized
freighter was coming in, we thought it was going north to Cave Cay which has a
large resort but it turned south and stopped off Musha Cay. We could not see
what was going on but there did not appear to be a facility on Musha Cay that
could handle a freighter that big. After passing Cave Cay and entering the
banks, we put up the screecher and had an easy run to Big Majors Spot. The
weather was benign, only a few clouds, nothing threatening, a big change from
George Town. We put out 2 fishing lines. Something hit my line and broke the
leader but that was all the action we got. There were even more big power
yachts and fewer sailboats in the anchorage. While tidying up after anchoring I
noticed a dark shape emerging from behind the boat, it was a good sized shark.
Saturday 6/4/2016
After a quiet night, the day was overcast and it did not seem like a good time to go exploring so we decide not the try for Little Bell Cay (Cambridge). Cathy wanted to get rid of garbage and thought I could use the WIFI at Staniel so we move the boat around and tried to anchor in front of the yacht club but the current was opposed to the wind and the boat would not find a stable position, the anchor chain sometimes rubbing on the hull. So we returned to Big Major and had lunch. After a snooze, we launched the dingy and took the remaining rain water in for the pigs. There were 2 large pigs, one baby and a chicken when we poured the water in their trough. We watched several other groups feed the pigs, explored the coast a bit and swam off the beach. While swimming I noticed a black shape moving through the water, it was a large sting ray which passed us without noticing.
Sunday 6/5/2016
We
waited for the 9 AM call from Exuma Park and got mooring #12. Several other
boats also called in or asked for reservations for Monday. The park office
closes at noon on Sunday so we will do the paperwork on Monday. We set the main
and pulled up the anchor. The wind was 10-12 Kt and with the jib we were doing
5 Kt downwind for the first few miles and then on a broad reach. As the wind
increased during the day we were doing 6 and 7 Kt and got to the mooring at 1
PM. We had lunch and then waited for low water, no current, and took the dingy
to the Coral Garden on the other side of the anchorage. It is quite a nice reef
with lots of different corals spread out over a large area. We returned to the
boat and someone was walking on the sand bar in the middle of the anchorage, he
swam to one of the boats near us. Later I saw something crossing the sandbar, I
thought it was the head and snorkel of another swimmer, but with the
binoculars, I could see it was the fin of a shark, swimming in water barely
deep enough for him. He made it to deep water and disappeared. The trawler next
to us is from Punta Gorda and they are here to wait out the weather also.
Dinner is corn on the cob, mash potato and steak, Yum Yum. A seagull landed on
the dingy while we were cooking, can’t blame him. Later we chased off more
gulls that landed on our bow. We could see a flock of them circling a large
power boat that was throwing out food, why don’t they stick with that boat?
Monday 6/6/2016
After
breakfast we went in to the office to pay for 3 days on the mooring. Cathy stayed
on the beach and read while I took the Causeway trail for a little exercise. I
got to the Sunshine Causeway, a short bridge across the tidal stream that runs
through the middle of the island with piled up stone walkway from the shore to
the bridge. The tide was high and the stone walkway was partly under water so I
decided that that was as far as I would go today. We returned to the boat for
lunch and at low tide, Cathy wanted to swim around the sandbar in the anchorage
and I wanted to take the trail across the island to Boo Boo Hill. As we were
getting ready for our afternoon activities, an enormous schooner arrived and
headed in to the harbor. I could not believe something that big would try to
get in the narrow channel, it seemed very narrow even to my vessel. As we prepared
our cameras to document their passage, I noticed a motion below our boat, it
was a nurse shark that seemed to be interested in our boat and hung around for
a couple of minutes. They sent a skiff ahead to scout the way and help with the
mooring, Cathy thought that was cheating, she has to do the mooring all by
herself. As soon 
as
they were moored, the passengers started climbing the rigging and jumping in.
It was almost low water and the sandbar in the middle of the harbor was
exposed. They swam to the sand bar and played games and generally had a good
time. I left in the dingy to try the Boo Boo Trail. We had started that trail
before but stopped at the creek. Now it was low water and I had my water
booties on. The creek was almost dry and I only had to go through a few inches
of water for a few feet to get across. The path was easier than any of the
others we had tried and I was soon at the top of the dunes on the eastern side
of the island with a great view of the harbor and even Cathy swimming from the
back of the boat. From the top of the dunes, there is a path to some blow holes
which are holes in the coral rock that go down to caves near the water. When
waves hit the cave, they force air up the blow holes and make an eerie sound.
Although the wind was fairly strong, 15-20 Kt, there were no big swells to
activate the blow holes, I could hear a gentle pounding at the blow holes but
when they are really working they will blow a hat 10 feet in the air. In the
other direction is Boo Boo hill where visitors leave their names 
and
vessel names carved on pieces of drift wood. Some were very elaborate. I have 2
nice pieces of drift wood but I left them at home, a good reason to come back
here. On the way back down the trail I noticed a sign we had missed before,
“Musical Stones”. There was a selection of coral stones with musical notes written
on them. Striking them with a small stone produced musical notes reminiscent of
steel drums, very creative.
Tuesday 6/7/2016
When the wind was opposed to the current, every 6 hours, the boat would swing around wildly and run up to the mooring ball which banged and scraped on one hull or the other. I got up in the middle of the night to check the situation and found the mooring line fouling on the anchor. I tied a line to the anchor and when the mooring line moved away from the anchor, Cathy let out the anchor chain and I pulled the anchor out and over the bow and put it on the trampoline. This stopped the mooring line from rubbing on the anchor but the boat was still swinging around and the mooring ball was still banging occasionally into the hull. In the morning several boats left and by 10 AM we had the whole place to ourselves. Several boats arrived in the afternoon and we had 5 boats here by the evening. At 2 PM, I went in to the office and purchased some internet time to check the weather. I checked the bank and our IRS check had cleared YEAH! But it was on 6/3 and the deadline was 5/30. Hopefully the postmark will show it was mailed in time, would they come after us for this? We have noticed several times today, the same float plane will buzz the harbor and circle around, could be the IRS. Near low tide Cathy jumped in and snorkeled around. A group from the boat next to us also jumped in. There are quite a few corals and fish right under our boat. When the current switched we began to swing around wildly and the catamaran next to us, a Lagoon 42 also was swinging. After playing with the mooring line, shortening it so the mooring ball did not hit the hull so much, I tried playing with the rudders and found I could keep the boat on one tack with the proper amount of rudder. After trying it for a while and watching my neighbor struggling, I shouted over to him to try his rudder position and soon we were both lying fairly calm. The wind also decreased which probably helped some.
Wednesday 6/8/2016
We had a rain shower overnight and collected 5 gallons of rain water. There was some lightning but far away. It happened while the tide was falling and the boat was oriented into the wind. I let the mooring out to relieve the strain when the rain started. In the morning the tide was rising and the wind was pushing us into the mooring ball. I managed to shorten the mooring line so it would not bump on the hull. It was a gray overcast day but nothing looked threatening so at about 8:30 we backed up from the mooring, dropped the lines and headed out for Eleuthera, about 40 miles to the next anchorage. At 9 AM the park came on the radio and we thanked them for our stay. It was a broad reach and I put up the jib to start and then raised the screecher. The wind was 10-15 Kt and we did 5 Kt. The boat seemed to do better with both sails but the jib blanketed the screecher a bit so I rolled it up half way and everything seemed OK. The sky remained overcast but we only had a few drops of rain on a couple of occasions, just enough to get us scrambling to close the ports but not enough to wash the salt off. We traded off watches every hour and after lunch we could see Eleuthera. As we entered the shallows we were greeted by 2 dolphins. We investigated the blue hole at the south end of Rock Sound but the sun was too low to see it well. We anchored near it, joining another black hull sailboat, the only other boat in the sound. Our first attempt at anchoring was a failure, the anchor dragged and we had to pull it up and try again. This is the first time on this trip that the anchor did not grab hard wherever we anchored.
Thursday 6/9/2016
A little rain during the night and some thunder far away. In the morning the wind was very light from the south and there was a big cloud to the west. We waited until it drifted by before leaving around 8:30. The GRIB file said the wind would be light from the south west and drop off in the afternoon. We started with the screecher and then put the main up while going down wind, it worked because the wind was so light. With both sails up we were doing 5 Kt and it looked like a good sail. We watched clouds over the island and some behind us but it was relatively clear around us and up wind of us. As the day progressed the wind slowly built and we started doing 6 and then 7 Kt. When we hit 8 Kt, I rolled up the screecher and put out the jib and still did 7+ Kt. The seas also built up from just about flat to 2-3 ft. and we were bouncing around a bit. Just after 2 PM we arrived at Hatchet Bay and had an exciting passage through their narrow entrance but once inside it was smooth and calm. We picked up the mooring that Horizon had last time. There was another catamaran Global Hopper anchored nearby and the owner Keith kayaked by, he is waiting for a weather window to go to the Abacos, like us. Two guys from the monohull anchored in the north section came by on their way in to the town dock, they are headed south. In the afternoon a mild squall swept over and we got a few drops of rain. Frances called on the VHF and we arranged to go in at 6 for dinner and to pay the mooring fee. We took the dingy in along with our electronic devices and rain coats, there were lots of clouds around. We sat on the porch with wine and beer and caught up on a lot of email, news and weather. We had grilled fish with rice, carrots and broccoli, very tasty but the flies also like it and a burning can of Sterno did not dissuade them so Frances brought us to a table inside where we had a pleasant dinner. After finishing up our internet activities we returned to the boat just as it was getting dark.
Friday 6/10/2016
It was a quiet night and the wind dropped to 5 Kt. But there were a lot of pesky flies and a few mosquitos. In the morning the other 2 boats had left. Cathy used the last of our rain water to wash a few clothes. Around 10 we took the dingy to the public pier and went to the grocery store for a few items, fresh vegetables, bread, cheese and milk. We found a can of Guava Shells and the instructions were to fill with cream cheese for a savory desert so we got both items to try. After lunch we played cards and around 3 the weather closed in and it started to rain. We had just poured out the last of our rain water which was getting a bit funky. It rained hard for a few hours and we easily filled up 10 gallons. There was some thunder around but nothing close. I had previously mentioned to Cathy that we had an old Sun Shower aboard and she said “Why do you keep these things from me?” With pressure water and a transom shower hose, I thought it was obsolete technology, but we got it out and filled it up with rain water. With the spigot in the head it is perfect for washing up. We played dominos until the rain stopped and then cleaned up and closed up the screens to prepare for the bug invasion. The birds had had a field day with us being the only mast in this part of the harbor and left their evidence all over the cabin top and windows. Fortunately, the rain washed most of it away. As the sun sets there is almost no wind but the rain has cooled everything off and it is very pleasant. We watch a movie and go to sleep.
Saturday 6/11/2016
Another quiet night, the wind dropped to very light, we had all the screens in so we were not bothered by the bugs and the rain had cooled things off nicely. A tanker came in around midnight. We went in to town for lunch, the Front Porch was closed, no sign of Frances. We walked in to town and there were people at the little open air bar so we stopped in and had a couple of Kaliks. There was a large fan and it was decently cool under the roof. They had a small food service so we ordered ham and cheese sandwiches and an order of fries. We watched a Brendan Frasier movie on the TV, how starved are we? The food was better than expected, toasted ham and cheese and the fries were very tasty. We walked around for a bit and there seemed to be a lot of cars going in one direction. We followed to the coast south of town to a cemetery and learned that it was a funeral for a young girl. Shortly after a band marched by with the funeral party. Back at the boat we played a few games and watched a movie.
Sunday 6/11/2016
Another quiet night, with the screens in we were not bothered by insects but the birds are a pain. There seem to be 2 of them insisting on building a nest in our mast. Every morning I find a bunch of sticks on the deck, along with copious droppings. I bang on the stays and halyards and scare them away but they always come back. We have also been watching a lone pelican in the bay, they are not common here but this one does not have any trouble catching fish here. I owe Frances for 2 nights at the mooring but I can’t raise him on the radio so I wrap $50 in a note and take it in. There is nobody at the Front Porch so I walk around town for a while and then stick it under the front door. I walk around to the dock and now there is activity at the restaurant, Frances has just returned on the ferry from Nassau where he was seeing a doctor for the problems resulting from a car crash a while back. He turns on the WIFI for us and I return to the boat for Cathy and our electronics. The weather report looks good except the winds will be very light. We get 2 Kaliks and tell Frances we are leaving tomorrow.
It’s a
beautiful Sunday morning, except there are BEES flying all around the cockpit
area. So outcome the fly swadders and here on Sunday quiet morning we are
killing BEES. So up go the canvas screens and enclosesures and dry to eat our
breakfast. After
breakfast, still bees around but eventully bees are gone. Hatchet Bay is a safe
anchorage as long as a person can take hearing pack dogs barking, and roosters
doing what they do all times of day especially at 6am.
Monday
6/12/2016
We get up at 6, before the alarm goes off at 6:30, have a quick breakfast and head out. The wind is very light from the north east but we put up the main and motor sail to current cut at just about low tide and make it to Royal Island harbor at 12:30, there is nobody else here. A few planes fly over and a power boat goes to the docks on the south west side of the harbor. A small outboard enters at the east entrance and acts strangely just as we want to go skinny dipping. It runs around in circles with someone at the bow as if looking for something. It comes near us, stops, one of the guys jumps off, hands something up and then they leave. I did not see what they were after, possibly a turtle. After dinner we play games and turn in early, the alarm is set for 5:30. By the course we took to get here from Abaco, the distance we had to travel was 61.6 nm and with 14 hours of daylight we had to average 4.4 Kt which we could do on one engine in light winds. Also I was prepared to take the North Bar Channel in to Abaco at night, the pass would not be a problem at night, I had been in and out so many times.
Tuesday 6/14/2015
The
alarm sent off and it is just getting light enough to see our way through the
harbor entrance. We get the boat ready and pull up the anchor. As we exit the
harbor, we see another sailboat anchored outside the harbor. Maybe they came
late and did not want to enter the harbor, with the calm weather it was as
still outside the harbor as inside and we enjoyed having the whole harbor to ourselves.
There are fluffy clouds around and some that may turn into something more but
nothing looks threatening. I took the shorter route between Egg and Little Egg
Cay, taking several miles off our course, I had not used this pass before but
Ray took it when he came down from Abaco. The passage was easy in the calm
conditions. The wind seemed to be from the south as we headed north and there
was almost no relative wind. We ran the first hour with both engines doing 6+
Kt and then shut off the port engine and did 5.5 Kt on one engine, there must
be a current in our favor as this is .5 to .75 Kt faster than we should be
going. The screecher is up but furled, I set the jib to see if it is worth
putting up more sail and to make us more visible to other boats but mostly it
just flaps back and forth. We see a few power boats, a cruise liner (Grandeur
of the Sea) and a freighter but nothing close to us. The wind continues light
to nonexistent. There are clouds around, most seem to be over the land mass of
Abaco and nothing looks threatening. A trawler on our reciprocal course called
us on the VHF “good to see another boat” and we wished each other safe passage.
At one point the sea was very flat and reflected the clouds. As we approached
Little Harbor we could see a sailboat behind us, possibly the one anchored
outside our anchorage this morning. We entered at Little Harbor, my second new
pass today. The wind had come up a bit, 5 Kt from the east, it was high tide
and the entrance was no problem except the sea was so flat and the tide so high
we could not see the reefs on either side until we were inside the pass. We
anchored close to our earlier anchorage at Lynyard Cay along with 8 other boats
at 4 PM, a quick passage. We had a nice swim and then some nicer drinks.